GST revenue collection for the month of April hit a record high of Rs 1,41 lakh crore, indicating economic recovery, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.

In line with the trend of recovery in the GST revenues over past six months, the revenues for the month of April are 14 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the last month of March.

In April last year, the revenue had plummeted to a record low of Rs 32,172 crore, after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

“The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April’ 2021 is at a record high of Rs. 1,41,384 crore of which CGST is Rs. 27,837 crore, SGST is Rs. 35,621, IGST is Rs 68,481 crore (including Rs. 29,599 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs. 9,445 crore (including Rs. 981 crore collected on import of goods,” the ministry said in a PIB release.

During the month under review, the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 21 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the last month.

“GST revenues have not only crossed the Rs. 1 lakh crore mark during successively for the last seven months but have also shown a steady increase. These are clear indicators of sustained economic recovery during this period. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, Income-tax and Customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue,” it added.

It further said that the quarterly return and monthly payment scheme has been successfully implemented bringing relief to the small taxpayers as they now file only one return every three months. Providing IT support to taxpayers in the form of pre-filled GSTR 2A and 3B returns and ramped up System capacity has also eased the return filing process.

Meanwhile, tax experts, however, said that since the April collections reflect economic activity in March, the GST mop-up in the coming months could see a decline owing to lockdowns in certain parts of the country to curb surge in Covid cases.

Deloitte India Senior Director M S Mani said, “The all-time high collections which relate to supplies made in March 2021 could now give way to muted collections in the coming months due to the lower economic activities in April.”

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Partner Rajat Bose said the collection figures for April represent the tax collected towards transactions done in the month of March 2021. “Since its the year end, most companies close their books and raise invoices during the financial close.”